– Avalon Myanmar – Myanmar River Cruise – April 2017
Avalon Waterways – Myanmar – Part VI (Kya Hnyat to Kyauk Myaung)
Avalon Waterways – Myanmar – Part IX (The Ship: Avalon Myanmar)
Avalon Waterways – Myanmar (Burma) – Reflections: “Isn’t This Amazing!?”
*Azamara Club Cruises – Azamara Journey – Singapore to Dubai (April 8, 2018)
* Azamara Quest – Southeast Asia and Japan (February 2015)
– How Close to Luxury Can Celebrity’s Smallest Ship Get? – Part I
– How Close to Luxury Can Celebrity’s Smallest Ship Get? Part II
– How Close to Luxury Can Celebrity’s Smallest Ship Get? Part III
– How Close to Luxury Can Celebrity’s Smallest Ship Get? Part IV
– How Close to Luxury Can Celebrity’s Smallest Ship Get? – Some Final Observations and Thoughts
– The Prologue to the Travelogue
– The Adventure Begins…With a Bump or Two
– Settling In Made Easy
– Luxury Touches Here, There and OK, Not, Everywhere…But There Are Lots of Them!
– Asian Flair Onboard and On Shore
– Private Tours, Israel and Conflicts in Perceptions and Perspective
Celebrity Equinox 2009 – Egypt…Impressive and Depressing
– Dining With the Captain and the Reidel Wine Seminar
– The Last Dinner (Tuscan Grille) and Disembarkation
– What Happens When A Class Act Meets Highly Discounted Cruise Fare
– Lisbon to Monaco: Crystal As a “Move Up” & “Move Over” Luxury Option – Part I
– Lisbon to Monaco: Crystal As a “Move Up” & “Move Over” Luxury Option – Part II
– Lisbon to Monaco: Crystal As a “Move Up” & “Move Over” Luxury Option – Part III
– Lisbon to Monaco: Crystal As a “Move Up” & “Move Over” Luxury Option – Part IV (Food & Wine!)
– Princess Cruises Doesn’t Treat You Like Royalty; Celebrity Cruises Does! Which is a Better Value for the Upscale Cruise Guest? Part I
– Celebrity Silhouette vs. -Royal Princess – Which Is A Better Value For The Upscale Cruise Guest? Part II: The Standard Veranda Staterooms
– Celebrity Silhouette vs. Royal Princess – Which Is A Better Value For The Upscale Cruise Guest? Part III: Treating You Right From The Start
– Celebrity Silhouette vs. Royal Princess – Which Is A Better Value For The Upscale Cruise Guest? Part IV: The Wine Lists Speak Volumes (As Do The Beverage Packages)
Regent Seven Seas Voyager – August 2017
– Italy and Corisca 2014 – Part I
– Italy and Corisca 2014 – Part II (Getting There, The Stateroom and First Impressions)
– Italy and Corisca 2014 – Part III (“You Can’t Teach Five Star Service” and Bonafacio, Corsica)
– Italy and Corisca 2014 – Part IV (Calvi, Monaco, Portofino, Porto Azzurro…and Stale Bread)
– Italy and Corisca 2014 – Part V (My Last Day…and How The Chef’s Team Makes It Happen)
Today was a very introspective and thought-provoking day.
Our day started driving down the roadway running along the Mekong River lined on the other side with shops, restaurants and bars; most of which tried very hard to be Western in appearance and approach, whether it be “$1 DVD” or “Heart Break Club” or the now well-known “Happy Herbal Pizza”.
Towards the end of this rather ramshackle city is the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda. Our guide (you note I intentionally never use his name), as we entered the Palace Grounds, was far more “tour guide” than normal and did not try to fill empty time with stories or reflective commentary. I walked up to him and asked him to turn off his microphone. He complied. I said I didn’t think he liked it here and he replied that is was fine. I knew what he was saying…and it something he later confirmed.
At the Royal Palace in Phnom Phen, Cambodia, just as when visiting Ho Chi Min’s Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam the people that are supposed to be casually walking around are actually listening to be sure the tour guides deliver the required message. When you travel to places like this and see a number of people “just there” or sitting in a uniform doing nothing they may well be listening. Fear and intimidation still exists in Cambodia.
As we walked around the relatively small area there are signs about what was here or there; as not much was preserved in this former Chinese cemetery. (Because Cambodians are fairly superstitious they do not like to be near cemeteries; hence it was a good choice to secret the horrors that were to occur there.) There are a few areas cordoned off with crude bamboo fencing marking mass graves designated for those who were women or who were decapitated. There is a Plexiglas box with bones and teeth inside and another with some clothes.
What I found to be obvious, and as was also subtly explained to me, is that the King and majority of the government (who are former/still Khmer Rouge) wanted the Killing Fields to be destroyed so as to make their existence a distance memory…and then not at all. What exists is shockingly small and unkempt (compare to the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda in the morning); noting that every other Killing Field has been removed from existence – save a small memorial marking.
I leave you with this thought: The monument houses a mere 9,000 skulls of those murdered by the Khmer Rouge. Can you imagine the size it would need to be if it housed the 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 Cambodian people that they killed?
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